"The naked eye definitely does not pick up the amount of colour that a camera does," said Ms Sonnemann, who set up the Aurora Australis Tasmania Facebook group, which has amassed more than 52,000 followers.

"Last night there were huge naked-eye beams — sometimes you'll get that and sometimes you won't.

"Many Tasmanians didn't realise it was their birthright, and that they could actually have the privilege of seeing this."